


Brother

by valda



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-16 06:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3477362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valda/pseuds/valda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The broadcast of teenage Cecil's radio test cassette has an effect on people other than just Cecil.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brother

Steve liked listening to Cecil's show at work. Work wasn't quite distracting enough to keep him from thinking about the dotted lines, and the arrows, and the circles. Cecil could be, though. Plus, Cecil was cool. He was on the radio! It seemed pretty high school to feel that way about your brother-in-law...step-brother...whatever. But Steve couldn't help it. Cecil was the brother of the woman Steve loved. He was a part of her. Steve loved him for that, and for how much he loved Janice.

It was a good day. Steve's wife was home. As the primary breadwinner for their little family, and a very important person at her work besides, she was often out of town on business trips. Steve was looking forward to a real family dinner tonight. He hummed happily to himself.

Today, Cecil had found some old cassette tapes from his teenage years. The radio host couldn't remember making them, and he'd decided to listen to them for the first time live on the air. Steve had to smile. That was just like Cecil!

Steve hadn't known Cecil or his future wife when they were children, so he welcomed this window into their earlier lives, paying close attention as Cecil's young voice spoke excitedly about Night Vale Community Radio. Cecil had apparently been quite happy about his destiny when he was a teen. _That_ was just like Cecil, too, Steve thought, his fond smile flattening a bit. Always so...receptive.

"My brother says that I'll never make it in radio," young Cecil abruptly said, sounding annoyed. Steve's hands stilled. _Oh_. Surely Cecil would turn off the recording now.

But he didn't. Teen Cecil kept talking. And when he was done, present-day Cecil said, "I...don't remember having a brother."

Steve stood. He went to his manager's office and called in his very last favor. And then he got into his tan Corolla and drove home as fast as he could.

~

His wife was sitting on the couch, staring at nothing. The radio was on.

"It didn't start out well," the younger Cecil was saying, "what with my brother staring at me from across the table with those hollow eyes and howling. Ugh. Brothers, right?"

Steve crossed the room to her quickly, sat down, wrapped an arm tight around her shoulders. His other hand went to where both of hers were twisting in her lap.

He waited. Cecil's show continued, and the radio host continued to play the old recordings, desperately, as though punishing himself--but he was hurting his sister too. Steve watched his wife carefully, watched her eyes widen toward the end of the last recording.

Then present-day Cecil's voice returned, and he worked through his own feelings about the contents of the tape by destroying it and then rambling philosophically, as he tended to do. Steve's wife looked up then, and her eyes made a wordless request, and Steve squeezed her shoulders and stood and went to the radio and turned it off.

"He doesn't remember," his wife finally said as he returned to the couch. Her voice was dull. "I thought...I thought he remembered. I thought he...knew. I thought he _understood_. But he just...he just doesn't _remember_."

"If he did know, he _would_ understand," Steve said, in a voice he hoped was comforting, but was perhaps a little too loud. "He doesn't understand _me_ , sure...but he would understand _that_."

"Does he...does he think I _gave birth_ to Janice?"

Steve's throat closed up. He pulled her to him, arms tight around her, one hand stroking her hair.

"You are Janice's mother," he choked out.

She took a shuddering breath. "No," she said in a voice filled with self-loathing, "I'm Janice's _fa_ \--"

"Don't you _dare_ ," Steve said fiercely. "You are _not_ , and you never were. And Cecil never had a _brother_ , either." She was shaking in his arms now. He was holding her so tightly he was almost afraid of crushing her. But he wouldn't--he _couldn't_ let go.

"Steve," she whispered miserably, and it broke him. Hot tears streaked from burning eyes as he buried his face in her hair. "I just...I thought he _knew_."

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is dedicated to everyone on Tumblr who has mentioned this possibility. Unfortunately I can't remember who all posted this theory, but if you did, this is for you!


End file.
